FNRttC December 2011 - Southend - Update

It is a risk to bring people to a FNRttC ride.  I knew this back in 2008 but still got a cycling colleague to come along.  He turned up 10 minutes late - I've haven't forgiven him ....  FNRttC can do no wrong for me.  The Whitstable ride in 2008 was the most magical ever, it was the 'Graveney Marshes sunrise' ride, the 'Pavel's Sheep Photo' ride.  This cycling colleague didn't get it and he tried to burst my bubble.  Never again, I thought.

But Mandy and Rob .... they have heard my cycling stories.   I play down the FNRttC experiences, but they sense there is more to it.  They came to see me finish PBP in Paris, as a surprise.  They are unique.  They understand.  They are not sporting fit, but they are fit through their professions.  Their bikes?  Hmmm, a little heavy, a little wide tyred, a little mudguarded, a little pannier racked ... with panniers.   Simon's email was ringing in my ears: "I know that whatever I say, some of you are going to turn up kitted out for an expedition to Kazakhstan".

Ok, so Mandy and Rob will fulfil this prophecy and Simon can say he was right.  I'll cope with that, especially if that pannier is filled with cake, Christmas cake or mince pies maybe, to be shared amongst the Fridays at a time when moral needs a little boosting.

But I didn't expect the knitting needles to come out!

Only when uploading the photos at home, do a realise the onlooker, central to the picture! Simon!  Susie help me!!

I'm just hoping that Christmas is a time for forgiving.  In any case, Simon was a little poorly, poorly by microbes, somewhat subdued, probably too poorly to care.

Maybe he'll now rephrase: "I know that whatever I say, some of you are going to turn up knitted out for an expedition to Kazakhstan".

It was cold.  To me, it was colder than in March.  My finger tips got cold, so I put a second pair of gloves on.  That transferred my cold thoughts to my cold toes.  My solution to that was to put a burst of speed on.  Seemed to work.  I was on my single speed commuter bike.  That was enough to get me warm on the climbs.  Amazing though, maybe because it is such a light bike, those climbs were not much trouble.  Just get out of the saddle, get into a rhythm, and before you know it, the smallest council house in Britain is in sight.  Because it was on a climb I didn't stop to take a picture, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it on the Rayleigh village board.

Bottom left - smallest council house

The Tully family treated us to the middle of the night snacks.  The cakes were great!.  I was going to take a photo of the boys, but they looked just like the March edition.

Photo take in March

It is only Sunday evening, but I already have the Tuesday Blues.  Or is it the lovely Davywalnuts' post on Cyclechat that got me?

"At a walnut stop near North Ockendon, something glistened to me through churned up mud. It was a necklace with a cross attached. Am not religious, but it spoke to me, like chocolate does, and leaving the muddy and churned up necklace behind, I took the cross. The last time I took that route home, a few months ago, I took a call from my Dad saying my nan had died. She was very religious and so as a good luck charm, it shall now go with me on rides."

Special thank you to Simon for organising and continuing to organise.  What a great FNRttC year it has been.

I hope the Fridays will enjoy the festive season and that 2012 will be full of rides you wish for.

Photos are on the slideshow till the next ride or here: Clicky

FNRttC December 2011 - Southend

I can't wait for the Southend ride on Friday!

Will it be as cold as last time (last time was March)?
Will I learn something new about London?
Will the Stock stop crew be in full form again?
Will the witch be at home?

We'll probably do the blue route

I'm planning a bit of extra-curricular. Southend has the longest pier in the world, so I must walk the walk.

Southend Pier

The South Bucks Winter Warmer 200

I had only just got my front wheel out of the car when I heard a 'Hello Els'!  'Hi Liam'!  Then there were Honor, Chris, Peter, Pete, Lindsay, Tim, Chris, Dasmoth, Scotlington ... and so, so many other familiar faces ....  and John!

Everybody was in good spirits.  It was going to be a mild day, a great route, a very well organised event.  I had only just got my front wheel out of the car and I was loving it already.  There were PBP chats, FNRttC chats (what do you mean you are not doing Southend!), RRTY chats, PBP vs BCM chats, what are your plans for next year chats ....

Pre-ride chats

Plans for next year .... I have plans for next year.  They are audax plans.  But whilst cycling around in the countryside, I was dreaming of a time when I'll do touring again.  Why can't I let go of audaxing and just go touring?  Why do I always need a challenge, a purpose, a theme?  One of the themes I have had in my mind is a Pancake tour (ref Severn Across 400): only eat where they can serve fresh pancakes.  Then you could graph my weight according to which country I'm in.  Well, yes, it started off as a tour in the UK only, but then I got hungry and had to go to Belgium.  Why not visit Normandy in France, also?  Would potato pancakes count in Poland?  Apparently New Zealand do a form of pikeletty pancake .... dreams....

Watch out!  After seeing Marcus' mate come off his bike, I wasn't so dreamy anymore.  I heard afterwards that Manotea came off also.  There certainly were a few tricky moments, and although I love cycling in woody lanes, I always seemed relieved to come back out in the open.   The compacted leaves on wet road are as dangerous as black ice.

I'd remembered Winnersh from previous rides.  It usually gets pretty cold by then, but not this time.  And neither was the control at the customary Sainsbury's either.  This meant I bumped into kebab van, selling chips.  Control or no control, I'm having chips!  That would make the last leg fly!

After Twyford, I was on my own quite for a long time.  I picked up my pace and was then relieved to spot red flashing lights turning out to be a groupette going steady behind ChrisB.  It was great to finish the ride in company.

Other thoughts

• the wonderful and plentiful mushrooms on the leaf covered banks
• expected Haselmere Christmas market to be on
• hearing shooting at Bisley again
• it was glorious with the sun out
• not being able to pay for Sainsbury's snack items at the Sainsbury's cafe.
• very nice welcome home at the finish control
• 9 info controls, I used my dictaphone to record the answers

Photos are on the slideshow till the next ride or here: Clicky

3 Dec - South Bucks Winter Warmer 200

I will be entering this ride:

207km cycling event starting from Great Kingshill, High Wycombe. An event for experienced Randonneurs, taking in some delightful lanes in Bucks, Surrey and Hampshire. Refreshments and shelter is provided at the start and finish, but all other controls are commercial outlets where proof of passage has to be obtained by the entrant.

Thanks to my own blog I can recall how it went last time, 2009 it was.  That would have been post-LEL.  It took me 13 hours.  I'm not going to make any plans of which bike I'll take, or if I want to do it in a faster time.  All will be weather and company-on-the-day dependent.

Here is how it went last time:South Bucks Winter Warmer 2009

Around Lake Zurich

I was looking high and low.  I was probably looking too high!  I was mesmerised by the crane's silhouette.

View from hotel room in the morning

Only the next day, the day after my wonderful bike ride around Lake Zurich, I looked down out of the hotel room window, and saw this!

Beehives on the rooftop (double click to enlarge)

Perfect!  This meant the bike rides qualified for a blog entry.  This is what was playing on my mind: how can I blog about a bike ride that is not an audax (or a FNRttC) and there isn't even anything about bees going on.  So the rule was conceived.  I thank myself for making my life that little bit harder.

Then I came across the 'Hive' poem by Carol Ann Duffy in the weekend's Financial Times.  The same edition with an article on Westvleteren.  I do like tenuous links.

I used the free bike hire scheme called ZuriRollt: no helmet, no puncture repair kit, not water bottle, no cleats, no cycling shorts, no time pressures, no map, no GPS, no brevet card .... and off I went all around the lake.

I was sooo excited that it all worked out.  It had happened before, where you follow an advert to hire a bike, only to find the scheme terminated, or they only have one bike and the tyres are flat.  Not here!  Loads of bikes in stock, the guy checked the bike over, I raised the seat, and off I went.

It didn't take long to see fantastic views over the lake.

There were other riders on the road.  Serious 'roadies' they looked like.  I wondered what Cancellara was up to.

My lunch stop at Rapperswil was great.  So much to look at: buildings, mountains, paintings, shops, trees, ....  I did miss out on the wooden bridge.  I just didn't know about it, hadn't come across it in the little research I did on Zurich and the lake.  Shame, but I will not complain. I had an excellent long weekend in the company of inspiring people.

The photos will tell you a fuller story: Rackstar Zurich

Other highlights during the weekend

• Rackstar dinner
• Seeing the amazing first ever showing of the Nahmad collection
• Learning about Yves Tanguy
• Permanent collection in the Kunsthaus also very impressive
• Learning about Ferdinand Hodler
• Service at Grossmunster
• The sounds of the bells on Sunday morning
• The price of a slice of bread!

Frank's Five Ferry Fietstocht

Or a pilgrimage to Westvleteren via Harwich and Hoek van Holland.

A trappist beer is a beer brewed within the walls of a Trappist monastery - there are only six in Belgium.  Frank, Stu and TinyMyNewt agreed that the 8° was delicious, so we tried a 12° also.  We followed lunch with a mazarinetaart, a speciality from nearby Poperinge.  Lovely!

We had a few comedy moments on the way, usually involving Stuart!  The best was after our first pub lunch stop in Tolleshunt Major. He shouted out: 'My glasses!'.  We slowed down while Stuart turned back to the pub, but within seconds he was in sight again.  'No one told me they were on my head!'.

We were a great team, although I say so myself.  It seems we just looked out for each other, making sure nobody was left too far behind, not too hungry, comfortable enough.  To make the round trip in three days, you do need to keep going, and with the headwind it can feel like hard work.  The ferries provided for regular breathers.  And Stuart provided for regular mileage updates.
.

How many miles?

I loved the stop in Goedereede.  Mark (DelftsePost), who joined us at the ferry, stopped for a coffee and appeltaart with us before making his way home again.  'Goedereede' means safe haven, and the place has history because of that.  Next time we should take note of the 'Hotel de Gouden Leeuw' from 1480, the former home of pope Adrianus VI.

The ferry at Mersea was great.  Frank had said 'they're expecting us at 3PM'.  How nice!  How nice to be expected. It was the smallest of the ferries.  We all fitted on and hung on to our bikes.  Stuart knew of the existence of a hose at the other end, so we'd be able to wash off the sand picked up during our beach walk.

We had a grammar lesson from TinyMyNewt.  It is 'different from' and not 'different to'.  Think if divergence or dichotomy.  If something is going to split (di means two) then it is going to split from something, not to something.  Thank you Jenny!

The section between Sluis and Brugge is wonderful. It was perfect timing with dusk and a lovely sunset between the trees. There are many restaurants along the canal, and a stop in Damme is a must.  We admired the lit historic buildings and continued along as we were keen to get to Brugge.  From Bruggge I took a train to my parent's place and then joined the group again the following day, in Westvleteren.

I have lost the touch of ordering in Belgium.  My mum had ordered and was served coffee within seconds.  After she left and it was my turn, it took me while to re-find the look and gestures required to grab the attention of the waitress.  It was very busy in the cafe.  There were lots of families, couples, walkers and at least four cyclists.

The last leg from Westvleteren to Dunkirk was fun as it was semi-off road.  Once in France we saw hunters in the fields.  One was sitting down on a block of concrete with his gun lying next to him.  I didn't ask if I could take a picture, I didn't take a picture, I carried on following Frank.

I had raced the short journey between Roeselare train station and my parent's place, but I didn't race as fast as I did to catch the fast London train from Dover Priory.  Once Frank said 'just go Els!', I was off, heart rate sky high.

I sat on the train reflecting on what a wonderful weekend we'd had.

Thank you to Frank especially for organising and providing shelter against the headwind (pleased you were on fixed though!), to Stu and to Jenny for excellent company and a great weekend.

Photos are on the slideshow till the next ride or here: Frank' s Five Ferry Fietstocht

The CycleChat thread with viewpoints from the others at the end: October's ride for Beer

The Boat Ride 200

First audax since PBP and first ride with the Willesden Cycling Club.  It was a perfect, crisp and sunny autumn day for a long ride.

Wicken

This new perm, organised by Paul Stewart, starts 10 minutes cycle away from where I live.  It was so nice not to have to drive to the start, and it was even better to be able to cycle home afterwards, knowing that it wasn't going to be an additional 20+ km.  As a bonus, we had a post-ride dinner at a local restaurant.  Usually after a long ride, everybody makes their way back home, the next catch up being on one of the internet forums.

Paul has set up another perm close by, from Richmond, towards Brighton and back. Thank you Paul, for organising these rides.

I started off trying to hang on to the group.  I knew it wasn't going to last.  'It is a tad too fast' I thought, but carried on.  'Good training' I told myself.  I also tried not to gear down too much.  'Good training' I told myself.  We had a headwind on the way back.  But I didn't need anymore training opportunities by then!

My fish and chips stop was great!  Saw 'the group' leave as I entered the Cheddington cafe.  Good! It meant I was still 'in contention'.   There was a wedding party on and a fish and chips van was doing the catering.  The only thing left on the menu was 'fish and chips'.  No large nor small, just fish.  No cod nor haddock, just fish.   I was able to intercept the customary 'salt and vinegar', and asked for mayonnaise.

Bridesmaids flowers by the boat?

The Waterside cafe is by the Grand Union Canal, which goes all the way down to Brentford.  It makes the ride feel local to me.

From Cheddington onwards, it was heads down and focus.  It was quite a thrill riding through dark country lanes again.  You get a mixture of emotions.  From excitement at the speed you can go at due to reduced traffic, to apprehension that overcomes you in waves due reduced visibility, to moments of fright at the thought of an unavoidable pothole.  I made my way to Chalfont Saint Peter, which is known for the start of other audaxes.  From there on, the post-ride meal was what occupied my head.

It was a great day and am looking forward to next weekend's trip to Westvleteren.

The photos are on the slideshow till the next ride or here: Photos